Not that many people will give a hoot, but on May 11 Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed into law a proposal to allow the use of most owl species in the ancient sport of falconry.
The proposal was introduced and shepherded by Ohio State Senator Senator Frank Hoagland, R-30.
In all, Ohio has fewer than 100 licensed falconers, each of these dedicated practitioners having undergone a rigorous apprenticeship period under the watchful eye of a master sponsor before obtaining a license.
And then only after also passing a tough exam requiring answering correctly at least 80 percent of the questions. Fail this test and one must wait six months before taking the exam again: each exam costing $75.
On top of that, pay another $75 for a three-year license as overseen by the Ohio Division of Wildlife with the eagle-eyed support of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. At the same time, a person may apply for a Raptor Capture Permit to acquire a bird.
Yet while today’s licensed Ohio falconers are using such approved raptor species as Harris hawks and red-tailed hawks they’re now likewise going to be allowed to use various owl species; among them being great-horned owls and barred owls.
The new law exempts the use of barn owls, which is a state-threatened species in Ohio. American bald eagles also are excluded from the list of approved raptor species.
Admittedly, the idea of using a night-time avian predator for falconry is a novelty and likely will appeal only to the most dedicated of Ohio’s tiny falconry community, says Ken Fitz, the Wildlife Division’s law enforcement executive administrator.
In over 25 years of field work Fitz said he could think of only one time when he engaged a falconer, and that was just to conduct an inspection of the licensed holder’s so-called “mew,” or the structure that houses a raptor.
“Falconry is such a small segment of our hunting population in Ohio that very few of our officers even ever encountered a falconer,” Fitz said as well.
Fitz said too that the new law was a collaboration between the Wildlife Division and the Ohio Falconers Association, noting also that several other states which license the sport do allow the use of owls.
“My guess is that any falconer who does obtain an owl will do so for demonstration purposes,” Fitz said as well. “Falconers are very serious about their sport.
- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn
JFrischk@Ameritech.net
JFrischk4@gmail.com
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